Cutting down on expenses

We have to. We have no choice. Things have come up. It's time to stop spoiling ourselves. How are we going to do this? What have we done already?






1) Set a budget for everything
2) Cut coupons, print from internet
3) Cancel cable
4) Cut back drastically on eating out
5) Cut back on groceries
6) Keep utility bills down
7) Cut back on driving
8) Cancel gym memberships

Yes, we spoil ourselves with all we have. We need to cut it out and start living more reasonably. It's time.

Stressed

School, work, life....that's all. Can't handle it today.

Will he ever change?

Suraya has a father.
Not Andrew who is there for her everyday.
She has another man who should be in her life but isn't.
Why isn't he?
I really don't know.
I don't ask.
I don't push it anymore.
I have left it up to Suraya.

He came down in July from South Carolina and was with Suraya for a few days.
She cried the first night after he dropped her off.
I felt horrible for her.
It broke my heart.
She missed him.

Since that night in July she has not cried.
She has not asked to call him.
She doesn't talk about him.
I don't know why.

I really had hopes that him seeing her again would spark an interest in him having contact with his child.
It didn't.
He hasn't called.
He didn't send a Christmas card.
He didn't send a gift.
Nothing.
No contact since July.
Why?
I don't know.

I have sat with Suraya and let her know she can talk to me about him whenever she wants.
She can call him anytime.
She hasn't done either.
I'm sure it hurts her but she says nothing.
I've asked her if she wants to call him.
She says "Maybe later".
She's smart.
Maybe she's waiting for him.
I don't know.

He has another child with his current wife.
I wonder how Suraya feels?
Does she wonder why her dad is with her half sister "S" and not her?
Does she care?
Does she wonder why "S" gets to see daddy and she doesn't?
Does she wonder if daddy loves "S" more?
I wonder....

Why does he not call?
Why does he not care?
I don't get it.
How can you leave your child and act like they don't exist?

Will Suraya disown him when she gets older?
Will she cry over him?
Will she see Andrew as her "daddy"?

Will he try to come back in her life and act lie he never missed a day of it?
I don't know but I wish I did.
I wish she didn't have to go through this.
I feel bad for her.
She needs her daddy.

She has Andrew though.
He is her daddy even though she doesn't say it yet.
I think she will see him as her dad.
She won't forget her biological dad though.
She will likely always wonder about him.
But thankfully I have brought a great father figure into her life.
It has helped.
It is working out great.
But I'm sure there will always be that hole in her heart for the man who is supposed to be her daddy.

I was geared up for a fight!

Andrew noticed there was a split in the wood on our dining room table leg. We're not sure how it happened but I decided to see if the store we purchased it at, Ashley Furniture, would send a new leg. I don't think we purchased the warranty on the item so I was hoping it would be covered by the 1 year limited warranty. I don't see why it wouldn't be but you know how some companies are with their warranties. They will fight you to the death before they do anything! This is what I was expecting!

I just got off the phone with the customer service rep...guess what happened? She gave me no hassle, no problems, nothing. She was extremely nice and said she would order a new table leg. She even asked if we would need someone there to install it. I was so surprised by the great service. I was ready for a fight and would really have considered never buying anything from Ashley again. Thankfully it all went well because there's some furniture in the same style group I would love to buy from them.

Vacation is a-coming

Since Andrew and I made the mistake of signing up for a trial timeshare membership we are stuck with using it this year before it expires in September. Thankfully the timeshare is at least in a good place. Hawaii! Oh boohoo us, right? Well, yea! $2000 later and twice as much expensive than us booking flight and hotel ourselves we will find ourselves traveling to The Big Island in July.

We have the room so far. I decided to go all out and use as many points as possible. Our room is a 2 bedroom townhome at the Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village. I did the research before I booked and chose this resort because it received 4.4 out of 5 stars on reviews by others who have stayed there.

Nestled amidst the striking greens of 36 holes of championship golf you will enjoy eight swimming pools and eight hot tubs all within a 5 minute walk to Keahou Bay. One bedroom Villas and 2 bedroom Townhomes range in size from 1000 to 2600 sq. ft with private lanais-fitness facility-multiple tennis courts-water features-gas BBQ grills and full service activities desk. All two bedrooms are condo style units with two stories.


This luxury style two bedroom two bath townhome has a complete kitchen-dining area-sitting area-private lanai-king size master bed-two twin beds in the guest bedroom and a queen sleeper sofa in living area. It sleeps six very comfortably. Home theatre system


























Not bad, not bad I must say. We are excited. This will be our first time to this island and our first time with such nice accommodations. We have yet to book our flights though. I am waiting for the prices to go down a bit. Right now the cheapest flight out is $750. That's just the flight. Ay Dios mio!!

Let me put this into perspective for you. Last year for the 3 of us we paid $1800 for flight and hotel for the week. This time the room itself is $2000 and as it stands the flight for the 3 of us is $2250. In other words this vacation is going to cost us $4250 at the total minimum for flight and room. I am not happy about that! To top it off I looked online to see how much it would have been for this particular resort with flight for the 3 of us....$3432. We are spending $818 more! So on I go awaiting a price drop in airline prices.

Mistake made, lesson learned. No timeshares for us! Awesome vacation ahead.

Stainless steel = Beautiful!

We bought our first stainless steel appliance yesterday! It's so pretty! It cost a little more than Andrew and I would have liked to spend but we compared this one to some of the other lower costing ones and this one won. Plus there was a really good sale on it.

Features we loved:

-Energy Star efficient
-Scouring jets in the back of the machine to clean pots and pans
-Hidden electronic controls
-Controls can be locked (great feature when we have a 2 year old running around)
-Cleans from 5 angles
-Sensors dictate size of load and uses appropriate amount of water
-Adjustable upper rack
-Silverware tray in on the door and can be moved to 2 other locations (saves space in the rack for other things)

Yay for us! Delivery is this coming Saturday! I can't wait to play with my new toy. Next on the list of appliances will be a stove. Our appliances are old and starting to break down so new appliances are definitely a must.

Innocent Traitor

I just finished reading my first historical fiction book and I loved it. What piqued my interest in this genre was watching The Other Boleyn Girl a few years ago. When, at the end, it stated it was based on a true story I was intrigued.

The other day I was out hunting for a book and happened upon some at a bookstore by an author named Phillipa Gregory who wrote the book The Other Boleyn Girl in which the movie was based off. I ended up buying one of her books and excitedly told some avid readers I know about my purchase. Turns out I bought the 3rd book in the series by Gregory. I shouldn't really say it's a series but people suggested I read her books in chronological order which are historical fictions of the Royal House of Tudor.

I found the list of the order to read the Tudor series in in and bought all of them off ebay and half.com. I couldn't read the 3rd book and be lost because I hadn't read the rest! And as some people know I can't just do things little by little. if I want something I have to have it and all of it. THIS is why I stay away from expensive hobbies. In the meantime someone suggested I read the Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir which is also a historical fiction within the time period I am interested in.

Innocent Traitor is the story of Lady Jane Grey, who's great uncle was King Henry VIII (the same King Anne Boleyn married). The book details Lady Jane's sad and harsh life from childhood to death through various character's view points in the story. It details the selfish plot thought up by her ruthless parents and others that lead to Lady Jane's her demise.

In 1553, At the age of 16 Lady Jane Grey became the Queen of England. Sadly her reign was cut short and she was dethroned a short 9 days after she (unwillingly) accepted the crown.

The book captured my attention the whole way through. I ended up reading up on Lady Jane Grey's history and that of her family's before finishing the book so I knew how it would end. Nevertheless it was a great read and it has sparked my interest in reading books within this genre. I live history! Good thing I have 6 historical books waiting for me!

Next up is Catherine of Aragon in....

Feeling antisocial

I don't feel like having people over. I don't want to be the go-to house for events. There's times where I don't mind but for awhile now I have been somewhat not liking the fact that I have a house. Let me clarify, having a house is awesome but it's a pain to have to entertain when you don't want to because you're one of the few that has a place big enough to do it.

I don't want to clean. I don't want to cook. I don't want to spend money. I don't want to have to watch where my dogs are in a crowd of people. I just don't want to act cheerful if I'm not feeling it. I just don't period.

My new favorite site!

Money money money moooney MOOONEY!



Ebates.com! I heard about this site on the news one day and decided to check it out. Well well, looks like I found me a winner! I get money back on the items I would have bought anyway.

How it works is you sign up for an account (duh!) and anytime you make an online purchase you log onto Ebates and enter the desired store's website through Ebates. That's all you do! No joke! Ebates creates a tracking receipt and poof, a few days later the amount you get back from making an online purchase shows up in your Ebates account and at the end of the quarter you get a check, direct deposit (I think), or Paypal deposit.

Each store has a percentage listed on Ebates (assuming they are affilitaed with them) that you get back from your purchases. For example, I bought textbooks for school on half.com by going through Ebates and I am getting 4% of that total purchase price back. You get 2% back from ebay. There's tons of stores listed like Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the list goes on.

So, I have been using the crap out of this site for all my online purchases. So far I've made a few dollars back but with my school book purchases and the books i buy for enjoyment I expect to get quite a bit more back. It's pretty exciting!

So, I highly recommend checking out the site. You get $5 for signing up and making a "qualified" purchase. If you want I can email a link to the page and guess what that does? Gives me some extra dinero for referring people. Hey, help a sista out! I be po'! LOL! Seriously, check it out if you buy online anyway, it's worth it.

Stop asking...

We found out that our friends are expecting. This is the second announcement in recent months. I am excited for both couples but I can't help but feel a tad bit jealous. Andrew feels the same. I know, SURPRISE on that one, huh? He is ready for a baby and isn't even trying to deny it anymore. Me, I go back and forth. I think I use "being selfish with my life the way it" is as a defense mechanism when it turns out I'm not pregnant. It's just easier to cope that way.

I decided to keep the whole pregnancy thing low key. I would rather people not know what's going on, when we plan to try to conceive, etc. It keeps the little glimmers of hope at bay and keeps the questions of "Are you pregnant yet?" from being asked. People may not realize it but that one question hurts if you're trying and it's just not happening. There may be issues the person is not ready to disclose yet or want to keep private. On top of that, that one question leads to more questions and it can get uncomfortable and awkward.

So I guess I can say that I would rather no one ask me any questions about me getting pregnant, when, etc. I will announce my pregnancy when I feel comfortable telling people. Right now I really don't feel like it's something I would tell anyone right away.

P.S. No I'm not pregnant.